The Chief Coroner of New Zealand is the most senior coroner in New Zealand, and supervises the work of other coroners in that jurisdiction. The post was created by the passing into law of the Coroners Act 2006, and the first Chief Coroner, Neil MacLean, was named in December 2006 and took up the role in February 2007. [1] The Coroners Act sets a statutory limit of 20 coroners; as of November 2022, there were 17 coroners based in nine centres, in addition to the Chief Coroner. [2]
Since 2007, three people have held the position of Chief Coroner. With some of their major inquests, they are:
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Notable inquests | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judge Neil MacLean |  | 2007–2015 | Pike River Mine disaster Christchurch earthquakes | [3] |
| 2 | Judge Deborah Marshall |  | 2015–2022 | Christchurch mosque shootings 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption | [4] |
| 3 | Judge Anna Tutton |  | 2022–present | [5] |
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In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel is a senior trial lawyer appointed by the monarch of the country as a 'Counsel learned in the law'. When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is called Queen's Counsel.
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.
The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It is claimed by New Zealand, a claim accepted only by the other six countries with territorial claims in Antarctica. Under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, of which all territorial claimants are signatories, including New Zealand, all claims are held in abeyance. Article IV states: "No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica".
Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright is a New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th Governor-General of New Zealand, from 2001 to 2006. She was the second woman to hold the office, after Dame Catherine Tizard.
Dame Sian Seerpoohi Elias is a New Zealand former Government official, who served as the 12th chief justice of New Zealand, and was therefore the most senior member of the country's judiciary. She was the presiding judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and on several occasions acted as administrator of the Government.
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The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, acceded to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 8 September 2022 in the United Kingdom. The King's elder son, William, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent.
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Ann Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE, PC, is a retired English judge. She was the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and was the highest-ranking female judge in the United Kingdom until 2004, when Baroness Hale was appointed to the House of Lords. Until June 2007, she chaired the inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed. She stood down from that task with effect from that date, and the inquest was conducted by Lord Justice Scott Baker.
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Sir John Hugh Williams, generally known as Hugh Williams, is a former president of the New Zealand Electoral Commission and a retired judge of the High Court of New Zealand. From 2016 to 2022 he was Chief Justice of the Cook Islands.
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Dame Alcyion Cynthia Kiro is a New Zealand public-health academic, administrator, and advocate, who has served as the 22nd governor-general of New Zealand since 21 October 2021. Kiro is the first Māori woman, the third person of Māori descent, and the fourth woman to hold the office.
Allan Neil MacLean was a New Zealand District Court judge and that country's first chief coroner, from 2007 to 2015. He was the coroner during the Pike River Mine disaster and the Christchurch earthquakes.